Holderness family ADHD

Penn, as we all know, suffers from ADHD.... D, a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in the treatment and assessment of adult ADHD, joins us to assist us deal with our own brains rather than each other.

Penn, as shown on this website and in these movies, is the result of a really enjoyable project. It's a profession that not many people have, therefore I thank my lucky stars every morning that I get to do it.

I recall all of the bizarre events that have occurred in our family.

I talk about it and have a good chuckle over it.

I'll make it rhyme now and then.

It's a position that didn't exist until recently. It's a job that my wife envisioned, invented, and effectively paid me to do because she thought it would be fascinating to others. It's a career that's the culmination of 40 years of learning how to tell tales (as a TV journalist) and compose music (which I've attempted since I was 12).

It's a profession that would be impossible to do without ADD.

That's right, you read that correctly. If something can be called "the world's fastest growing disorder," it's ADD (or ADHD... Actually, I have ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), but for the sake of this post, we'll just call it ADD). It's been referred to as a "epidemic." It is now diagnosed in one out of every ten children.

OK, I have ADD, so let's take a sharp left and travel back a few decades....

In college, I was diagnosed with cancer. It wasn't exactly a buzz phrase back then, but my symptoms were so severe that a buddy suggested I check on my medicine. After three years of battling with my grades, I decided to try "Dexedrine." Doesn't this sound like a weight-loss supplement?

Well, this medicine did help me drop roughly 20 pounds. I, too, had a completely different feeling. I recall going to the beach with some old family friends the first weekend I had it. With an old acquaintance, I went for a 5-mile stroll.

"Do you know you just spent an hour talking to me without spacing out or interrupting me?" she asked when it was ended.

“Really?”

“Yeah. It was fantastic. "Did you like it?"

"I suppose so."

To be honest, the only reason I loved it was because she did. It makes me pleased to make other people happy. But I was feeling a little bit like a robot on the inside. A lot of the hilarious, weird things I would have said typically didn't come out. I paid attention and took notes.

My grades improved by a full point from a B-minus student to an A-minus student during my final year of college. I graduated on time, which had been a major concern a year earlier. On the other hand, I felt like an entirely new person. 95 percent of the time, I was fine, but the other 5% of the time, I was a complete wreck, screaming or yelling at people I cared about for no apparent reason.

I felt strange, like the guy who was hired to replace the guy who had lost his job because he was terrible at it. Like a more polished version of myself. But not in the same way as me.

After a year, I decided to stop taking the drug, which I think was similar to attempting to quit smoking. I probably ate 6 meals a day, slept 15 hours a day, and felt like I was in a fog for the first several days. I spend a lot of time on the couch, zoning out in front of the television.

But after a week or so, I felt like myself again.

NOTE: My personal experience with ADD medication was just that: personal. There are unquestionably advantages. I've witnessed close friends improve dramatically after taking a consistent amount of medication. It all depends on the individual.